subject: Choosing To Take Part In Minding Global Water Usage [print this page] As the concept of sustainability is getting to the mainstream, organizations are expanding initiatives for sustainable resource planning. Little to no attention has been given to other areas like water management, notwithstanding the fact that global water usage is supposed to be everybody's main agenda.
Carbon emissions around the world must be, quite rightly, the focus of corporate attention. However, global water usage is also unsustainable and could, in fact, turn out to be an even larger problem than greenhouse gas emissions. Many experts believe that we will run out of water on our current path way before we deplete our non-renewable fuel sources.
You can ask any company its cause to pursue sustainability as you would like to find the rationale of such efforts. Problems associated to GHG emissions and energy efficiency would dominate the discussions. After all, much publicity has been given to the damage caused by excess energy production and consumption and the need to mitigate carbon emissions.
By current estimates, according to a collaborative watchdog group, the 2030 Water Resources Group, global water requirements will increase by more than 50% by the time that we reach 2030. This will be 40% more than our ability to supply, unless stringent measures are taken to address the situation.
Global water usage in the industrial and commercial sector will double by 2030 from its current position as 20% of total usage. While agriculture maintains a lion's share of water usage around the world, it should fall to every corporate boardroom to act swiftly. Cut back and contribute in the push for water sustainability.
As an individual corporation, there is of course a limit to what can be done. For example, a company cannot alter the projection that China is likely to account for almost half of the additional industrial global water usage by 2030. However, as in the case of carbon reduction, a significant consolidation of water resource usage internally can aggregate to make a huge difference, worldwide.
The Water Resources Group gives as a stark reminder how inefficient we are, most especially when it comes to our corporate contribution to global water usage. Water usage has become more efficient by 1% within the 15 years prior to 2004. Little public information is disseminated on these statistics. Just imagine how much outcry there would be if our rate of carbon emission efficiency was so pitiful?
On a larger scale, organizations might have overlooked for a while in recognizing that water security is just as important. For instance, over a half of the global water usage is attributed to energy production in the industrial sector.
As the world's population continues to grow in an unsustainable way, it is likely that there will be increasing demand for agricultural production. This will exponentially boost the amount of global water usage allocated for that sector. This puts even more pressure on the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors to reduce reliance on this scarce commodity as much as possible.
by: Daniel Stouffer
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